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Sam and Friends
]] ]] 'Sam and Friends' was Jim Henson's first television series, a five-minute show that aired twice daily on WRC-TV, the NBC affiliate in Washington, D.C. from May 9, 1955 to December 15, 1961. __TOC__ The title character was a humanoid named Sam, but a more enduring star of the series was Kermit, who was not yet a frog. Other characters included the voracious Yorick, beatnik Harry the Hipster, excitable Professor Madcliffe, Chicken Liver and utility players Hank and Frank. Other characters possessed more ephemeral personalities, and in many cases, their existence is defined only by photographs and surviving puppets. This roster includes Mushmellon, Icky Gunk, Henrietta, Omar, Moldy Hay and the earliest Muppet star, Pierre the French Rat, amongst others. Characters were performed by Henson and Jane Nebel, with Bob Payne (who joined in 1958 to substitute for a Europe-bound Henson) and Jerry Juhl filling in for Nebel in the final season. The series was heavily reliant, particularly in its earliest installments, on puppet characters lip-syncing to records, usually novelty songs or comedy routines from the likes of Stan Freberg, Bob and Ray, Spike Jones, Ken Nordine, Louis Prima and Keely Smith, amongst others. Henson experimented with character voices in such sketches as "Visual Thinking," and in commercials for the show's sponsor, Esskay Meats. Though the earliest skits were in black and white, later sketches such as "Poisen to Poisen" were transmitted in color. Some of the show's original puppets have appeared on display in museum exhibits such as the Muppets and Mechanisms: Jim Henson's Legacy exhibit at The Smithsonian Institution (which later became a part of the Smithsonian's permanent collection), and the Worlds of Puppetry exhibit at the Center for Puppetry Arts. Episodes Existing According to the Jim Henson Company Archives, very few of the original shorts have survived over the years. In the days before videotape, shows would have to be deliberately recorded on kinescope by pointing a film camera at a video monitor. Jim Henson "rarely bothered to record his programs, unless he was trying out a new technique or wanted to review a particular aspect of his performance."Report by Andrew Young of a panel at The Paley Center for Media. Some of the existing spots can be viewed at The Paley Center for Media; others are shown at special screening events at venues such as the Museum of the Moving Image. As airdates are mostly unknown, segments are listed here alphabetically by the most well-documented title (with the exception of the final episode). Documented While video footage exists for some segments, others have been documented either by the Henson Archives or newspaper articles published while ''Sam and Friends was still on the air. * The Muppets made regular appearances on Today beginning in 1961. Some of these segments were performed from their Sam and Friends set, communicating with Today hosts via satellite. One such performance of "Yes! We Have No Bananas" is documented in Time and Again; whether these segments were also done on Sam and Friends is unknown. * Hank, Sam, and Moldy Hay in a car by a roadside sign. Video footage is not known to exist, but a photo appears in Jim Henson: The Works. * Kermit performs a parody of "Anything You Can Do" with prerecorded footage of himself.Documents found in visit to Henson Archives via User:Toughpigs, User:Pantalones, and User:Scarecroe * Stan Freberg himself pops his head into frame and criticizes the Muppets for using his records without giving him credit. Kermit says "here's a little credit" and pounds him back out of frame with a mallet.The GrantCast EPISODE #001 – Stan Freberg Talks About Jim Henson! * Henson used a puppet made from the skull of a squirrel to lipsynch to a recording of "There's a New Sound."Jim Henson: The Biography by Brian Jay Jones (page 63)J. Y. Smith, "Jim Henson, Creator of Muppets Dies at 53," Washington Post, May 17, 1990 * One sketch spoofed NBC news program, Meet the Press.Jim Henson: The Biography by Brian Jay Jones (page 79) * In The Muppet Show episode 218, Kermit introduces "Tweedle Dee" as "the very first piece of material the Muppets ever did ... about 23 years ago." * Characters lipsynched to a Mel Blanc recording of "Money."Jim Henson's Red Book 1/13/1966 - Tonight Show - "Money" and "Sclrap Flyapp" * Elvis Presley recordings were used as satire.Christian Science Monitor "Muppets Win Way" by Ursula Keller, December 15, 1959, via Jim Henson's Red Book "2/-/1955 – ‘Began working together. Jane‘" * A sad love song is sung by a Muppet who holds a picture of his lady-love upside-down. * One segment involves a character running around frantically looking for a hammer to use on his rocket. * One segment, from approximately December 1959, has Professor Madcliffe disrupting a musical performance by Kermit due to a union rule. Kermit brings in Harry and Yorick to play a song instead.Archival document displayed in The Jim Henson Exhibition at the Museum of the Moving Image * Other documented musical numbers from 1955 to 1958 include "Henrietta's Wedding," "There's a Hole in the Bucket," "I Like People," "La Ploop de ma Tante," "Mrs. Murphy's Chowder," "The Frozen Logger," "I Wonder When I Shall be Married," "I Only Have Eyes for You," "Good Peanuts," "Down the Drain," "Two Face West" (a spoken comedy routine), "The Johnson Boys," "Sunset Strip," "I Gotta Grow," "Listen to the Gooney Bird," "Miss Cone," Snow Medley ("I've Got My Love," "Let It Snow," and "Winter Wonderland"), "Jingle Bells," "Shada Wada Do," "The Last Time I Saw Paris," "Side by Side," "The Reluctant Cannibal," "Love Poems - Togetherness," "Are You Lonesome Tonight," "Hey, Look Me Over," and "If You Felt Like I Did When We Said Goodbye." Gallery SamFriends.jpg|Jim Henson and Jane Nebel at work SamandFriends.jpg|Jim Henson and the cast Sam-and-Friends-Cast.png|Kermit, Moldy Hay, Yorick, Harry and Sam Samandfriends00.jpg|Jim and Jane Henson with the cast JimJane-SamFriends.jpg|Jim and Jane with the cast, including Pierre the French Rat Kermit, Harry and Yorick.jpg Young Jim Henson and Muppets.jpg Kermit_Sam&Friends.jpg Sam and Friends Kermit on the Set.jpg Sam & Friends Omar.jpg|Jim and Jane Henson performing Omar Smithsonianan.jpg|The cast in 2006 at The Smithsonian Sam_and_Friends_postcard.jpg| Sam & Friends postcard samFriendspost.jpg| Sam & Friends postcard samFriends0.jpg| WRC-TV Program Schedule samFriendsad.jpg| Kermit on Sam & Friends Newspaper ad samFriendsad2.jpg| Illustrated Sam & Friends characters samFriends1.jpg| Sam & Friends ad Sources External links *Henson's Redbook entry on final episode *[http://kidshow.dcmemories.com/sam.html Kaptain Kidshow's extensive page on Sam and Friends] *[http://picasaweb.google.com/rmcart/SamAndFriendsTheEarlyJimHenson# Rare Sam and Friends photos] __NOWYSIWYG__ Category:Muppet TV Shows Category:Sam and Friends